Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1979-1998 (Creation)
Extent
2 boxes (1 linear foot)
Name of creator
Biographical history
David Matias was born David Thomas Matias Rodriquez in Seagoville, Texas, on February 5, 1961. He grew up in Kerrville, Texas, where his father was a prominent fourth generation Southern Baptist minister. David graduated from Tivy High School in Kerrville, and earned a BA in Speech and Drama from Trinity University in 1983. He was awarded an MFA in Theater from the University of North Dakota in 1987.
After graduation, he moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he became heavily involved in the Provincetown Theatre Company, where he wrote, directed, and acted in numerous productions. He began to use the pen name David Matias, both to honor his father and because "Rodriguez was the 'Smith' of Texas."
Matias was diagnosed with HIV sometime during his graduate school. Poetry provided him with a creative outlet to process his illness. His first collection of poems, Dances with Family and Disease was published in 1993. Other poems were published in Cosmos, Provincetown Art, Body Positive, New Letters, the anthology Starry, Starry Night, the anthology Things Shaped in Passing: More Poets for Life Writing from the AIDS Pandemic, and the anthology Persistent Voices: Poetry by Writers Lost to AIDS. In 1994 he was awarded a poetry fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center. His second volume of poetry, Fifth Season, was published posthumously in 1998 by the Provincetown Arts Press.
Matias was active in the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Provincetown, and served as the co-chairperson of the committee that established the Provincetown AIDS Ministry, one of the first such organizations in the country. Matias died of AIDS complications on December 13, 1996. He was survived by his partner, Dr. Leonard Alberts.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Collection contains drafts of poetry and plays written by David Matias, an alumnus of Trinity University who died of AIDS at an early age. Much of his work deals with issues of identity, coming out, and his illness. There are also three video recordings: a performance of one play, a poetry reading, and a guest lecture at a Harvard University class.
System of arrangement
Materials are arranged in three series: Poetry (Series 1), Plays (Series 2), and Audiovisual Materials (Series 3). Within each series, materials are arranged chronologically.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This collection is open and available to the public for research in the Special Collections & Archives reading room. The materials are non-circulating.
Physical access
Technical access
Streaming copies of the audiovisual materials are available. Please ask the librarian for assistance.
Conditions governing reproduction
The materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The materials are available for personal, educational, and scholarly use. It is the responsibility of the researcher to locate and obtain permission from the copyright owner or his or her heirs for any other use, such as reproduction and publication.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Donated to Coates Library by Dr. Leonard Alberts, November 2019.
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Citation: David Matias Papers. Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas).
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
DACS
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding aid created by Colleen Hoelscher, December 17, 2019.
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Matias, David, 1961-1996 (Subject)
- Trinity University (San Antonio, Tex.) (Subject)